Connector for battery charging jumpers



May 21; 1957 w. E. ANDERSON 2,793,350

CONNECTOR FOR BATTERY CHARGING JUMPERS Filed May 27, 1954 ATTORNEY United States Patent C) CONNECTOR FOR BATTERY CHARGING JUMPERS Walter E. Anderson, Atlanta, Ga. Application May 27, 1954, Serial No. 432,649 3 Claims. (Cl. 339-95) This invention relates to connectors for battery charging jumpers. These devices comprise a length of electrical conductor with a connection at each end to be connected to terminal posts of batteries being charged.

Battery terminal posts in use become dirty and corroded. A connector made'to fit the post, which is tapered, will merely contact and compress the dirt and corrosion on the terminal. It will be seen therefore that "to make sure of a proper metal to metal contact it has been necessary for the mechanic to take the time to carefully remove the dirt and corrosion from each terminal when placing batteries on the charging rack. Terrell et al., Patent No. 1,786,369, attempted to overcome this difiiculty by providing spaced vertical grooves on the inner face of the connector leaving ribs with faces lying in the conic surface that matches the surface of the terminal to which it is to be applied. It has been found, however, that connectors made in accordance with Terrells disclosure having the grooves and edges parallel with the connector axis do not operate in an entirely satisfactory manner and the present invention is the outgrowth of an investigation of the requirements for a more reliable battery or electrical connector.

One object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a battery connector that will automatically and rellialbly clean a portion of the terminal to which it is app re A further object of the invention is to provide a connector that requires only to be placed on a battery terminal post and rotated slightly by hand to assure a gripping metal to metal contact.

A still further object of the present invention is to pro vide a connector that has an interior surface configuration that will positively remove dirt and corrosion from the battery terminal post to which it is applied, and that will retain its characteristic interior configuration under conditions of severe use.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a connector that will not require the use of a hammer or other tools either to apply or to remove it from a battery terminal.

The invention will be clearly understood from the following description taken with the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference designate similar elements in the several views and in which:

Figure 1 shows in elevation a connector of the present invention in place on a battery terminal post,

Figure 2 is a vertical section through a connector made in accordance with the present invention,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the connector,

Figure 4 is a bottom view of the connector, and

Figure 5 is a view corresponding to Figure 4 but illustrating a modification.

In Figure 1, a connector indicated generally by numeral is seen seated on a battery terminal post. The connector 10 has a tapered hole 12 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) extending through it that conforms generally to the taper of the battery terminal 11. Hole 12 is substantially lice larger than post 11 and is provided with either three or four ribs 13, as shown in the drawings. It will be noted that the ribs occupy less than half of the conical surface of defining hole 12. Each rib 13 is bounded at one side by surface 14 and at the other side by surface 15. These surfaces extend from the conical sur-' face of defining hole 12 at an angle of slightly more than That is to say, these sides of the" ribs do not lie in radial planes. The face of the ribs toward the center of the hole is made up of two substantially flat surfaces 16 and 17. Surface 16 is at 90 to side 14 and intersects side 14 along a line 18 lying on a cone of the same taper as the terminal post. Similarly, surface 17 intersects side 15 at 90 and along a line 19 lying on a cone corresponding to the taper of the terminal. Surfaces 16 and 17 intersect each other along a line that is located radially outwardly of the cone. on which lines 18 and 19 lie. Surfaces 16 and 17, therefore, are not tangential to the terminal post surface but, with surfaces 14 and 15 respectively, present cutting edges to 18 and 19 with a lip angle of approximately 90 to the conical surface of the terminal. Thus the; cutting edges 18 and 19 are given sufficient clearance to perform their cutting function.

It will be noted that cutting edges 18, 19 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) are closer together at the lower side of the connector than at the top. Thus, considering edge 18 or 19 as a cutting tool, side slope has been provided. Corrosion cut from terminal post 11 will tend to be forced downwardly through the spaces between ribs 13.

In a practical exemplification of the connector of this invention, the ribs 13 rise about a millimeter from the conical surface of hole 12, and the ribs are 6 or 7 millimeters at the bottom of the connector and 7 or 8 millimeters at the top.

In use one connector is connected at each end of a short length of insulated wire. The connector at one end being of a size to engage the positive terminal of one battery and the connector at the other end being of a size to engage the negative terminal of another battery. The difference in size being to prevent inadvertent connection of two positive or two negative posts together. It is only necessary to place the connector on the post and, pushing it down, give it a slight twist in either direction to assure a positive metal to metal contact due to the positive cutting action of edges 18 or 19 as the case may be. To remove the connection a reverse twist with a slight pull will immediately free the connector.

Having thus described my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications can be made in the structure described without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

The vertical dimensions and internal taper of the connector are so related to the taper of the terminal post that the connector does not initially fit the post with the top of the connector flush with the top of the post. This feature ensures a longer service life for the connector since as the surfaces of the post and connector wear, the connector can move downwardly on the post.

It is further to be pointed out that my invention also contemplates a battery jumper in which the positive connector body has an additional rib, for example, five, when the negative connector body has four ribs, whereby easy visual identification of the proper connector body for the proper post is assured. Further, negative and positive identification marks, as shown, are provided on the shank of the bodies.

When applying the connector to a terminal post with a slight push and twist, the contact edges of the V-shaped grooves on the ribs serve as reamer blades to scrape through the foreign material on the battery terminal and thus provide a clean, gripping, metal to metal contact which assures the lowest resistance to flow of current.

It is further pointed out that this invention is not to be limited to a. battery -jurnper construction. The cooperative relationship between connector bodies, and posts willprovide a good electrical connection for otheruses.

the invention also contemplates an electrical connector including a cable means for carrying current, an annular bod-y connected to the cable means and adapted to fit over any tapered electrical terminal forming part of an electrical circuit to be completed.

What I claim is;

1. In an electrical-connector, a cable for carrying curren n nn lardy a apte 'fit ov r a t per rminal post, said'body being connected to the cable and h ing n inner s rface taper d in c sp ndence to the taper of the post and ,Said surface having a plurality of integral ribs projecting inwardly thereof toward vthe axis of the body, the ribs being coextensive in length with the inner surface of the body and having total transverse dimensions of less than one-half .of the circumferential extent of the inner surface of the body, said ribs being narrower at the end adjacent the greatest circumference of the opening in the annular body than at the opposite ,end,'each rib including opposite edges engageable with the post and the surface of each rib between the edges being recessed so asto provide clearance-spaces relative to a post-whereby said edges constitute reaming edges respectively operable upon rotation of the body relative to the post in opposite directions to ream and remove corrosion from the post and ensure positive metal to metal contact and a gripping relation between post and body.

2. In an electrical connector as claimed in claim 1 and in which each side of the ribs extends inwardly from the inner surface of the body at an angle of slightly more than 90.

3. A battery connector comprising a metal element pierced with a conical hole conforming generally to the size and taper of a battery terminal to which it is to be attached, a plurality of ribs on the wall of said hole, extending in the direction of the axis of said hole and coextensive therewith, each rib having opposite sides extending inwardly from the wall of the hole at an angle of slightly more than 90 with respect to the Wall of the hole to such an extent that the size of the ribs do not lie in radial planes, each rib having two edges, each presenting a 90 lip angle cutting edge to a battery terminal to which the connector is to be attached and said ribs being narrower at the larger bottom end of the conical hole than at the top of said conical hole.

Lawson Mar. 15, 1927 Terrell et al. Dec. 23, 1930 

